The words platforms use in their notices — and what they actually mean for your account.
01 / TermsA–Z
01Instagram
Instagram’s screen showing whether your content was removed, whether it can be recommended to people who don’t follow you, which features are limited and whether the account is at risk. Most items can be appealed one by one: Account Status explained.
02Security
When an attacker gains control of an account and changes its email, phone number and two-factor settings so the real owner is locked out. The first 30 minutes matter most: hacked Instagram checklist.
03Meta
Meta’s settings hub that connects Instagram, Facebook and other Meta accounts and holds shared settings such as passwords, two-factor authentication and personal details. A linked Facebook account can be a recovery route for Instagram: recover without email or phone.
04Security
A device or browser where your account is still signed in. Most platforms list these sessions and let you end them remotely — the step that locks out an attacker who is already inside. Who else is logged in?
05Instagram
A check that confirms a user’s age, either with a government ID or a video selfie that estimates age (Instagram works with Yoti). Accounts believed to be under 13 are removed unless an appeal succeeds. Appealing an Instagram age decision. Age checks under the UK Online Safety Act.
06Security
A separate password generated for a third-party app or device instead of your main password. After a hack, Yahoo advises revoking app passwords and deleting any you don’t recognise. Yahoo account hacked.
07All platforms
A formal request asking a platform to review an enforcement decision, such as a suspension, a removed post or a strike. Appeals usually have a deadline shown on the notice — 180 days on the Instagram notices in our case files.
08Security
An app such as Google Authenticator or Microsoft Authenticator that generates one-time sign-in codes on your phone. It works offline and, unlike SMS, cannot be redirected by a SIM swap; Epic Games, for example, recommends it over SMS or email. Two-factor authentication on 12 platforms.
09Security
One-time codes you can use to sign in when your usual two-factor method is unavailable. Generating a new set invalidates the old one. Lost your 2FA? Start here.
10All platforms
Creating or using another account to get around a suspension or ban. Platforms treat it as a separate violation, and it can make the original ban permanent. Reddit suspensions and appeals.
11Meta
Meta’s container for a business’s Pages, ad accounts and the people who manage them — formerly called Business Manager. Only admins can add or remove people. Lost access to Business Manager.
12YouTube
YouTube’s removal of a channel after three Community Guidelines strikes, a single severe violation or repeated copyright strikes. The channel can return intact if an appeal succeeds.
13YouTube
A YouTube penalty for breaking its Community Guidelines. Three strikes within 90 days lead to channel termination. How the termination appeal works.
14YouTube
A penalty applied after a valid copyright takedown request. On YouTube, three active copyright strikes lead to termination; a strike expires after 90 days if you complete Copyright School.
15All platforms
A legal statement asking a platform to restore content removed for copyright, when you own the rights or the use was lawful. Your details can be shared with the person who made the claim.
16Security
An attack in which email-and-password pairs leaked from one site are tried automatically on many others. It works because people reuse passwords — which is why a unique password for each account is the first fix after a streaming or gaming account is taken over. Netflix account hacked. Data breach: the first hour.
17Privacy
A company that collects and sells personal information — addresses, phone numbers, relatives — often shown on people-search websites. How to remove your personal information.
18Meta
Deactivating hides a profile until you log back in; deleting becomes permanent once the 30-day cancellation window on Facebook and Instagram ends. Neither is a disabled account, which the platform itself restricts. Deactivate vs delete Facebook.
19Privacy
An image, video or audio clip generated or manipulated with AI to show a real person saying or doing something they never did. How to get a deepfake removed.
20All platforms
The window after you delete or close an account during which signing back in cancels it: 30 days on Facebook and Instagram, the 30 or 60 days you choose for a Microsoft account, 7 days on Pinterest. After it, the account is gone for good. Recovery wait times by platform.
21Google
Removing a page from search results without deleting the page itself. Removal at the source deletes it everywhere. Removing negative content from Google.
22Meta
An account a platform has turned off for a suspected violation. On Meta platforms, the notice usually offers an appeal within a deadline. What to do when Instagram disables your account.
23Privacy
Publishing someone’s private details — home address, phone number, ID numbers — usually to harass or intimidate them. Major platforms and Google remove doxxing content on request. What to do if you’re doxxed.
24All platforms
TikTok’s standards for which content can be recommended in the For You feed. Ineligible videos stay on the profile but aren’t recommended; content created by people under 16 is never eligible. “Not eligible for the For You feed”: what to do.
25All platforms
An account pretending to be a real person, brand or organisation to mislead others. Fan and parody accounts that say so are generally allowed. How to remove a fake account. Someone is using my photos.
26Meta
A temporary security hold placed when a platform sees unusual activity. You lift it yourself by confirming your identity — unlike a suspension, there is nothing to appeal. Facebook account locked: how to unlock it.
27All platforms
A coordinated campaign in which many people report the same account or post. Instagram says the number of reports doesn’t determine whether content is removed; it is reviewed against the rules. Mass reported? What really happens.
28Meta
The successor to Accounts Center, rolling out gradually from April 2026: one place for the sign-in, password, two-factor and contact settings of Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and other Meta apps. App-specific privacy settings stay in each app. Meta’s support hub and Meta Account.
29Meta
Meta’s paid subscription for Instagram and Facebook that adds a verified badge after an ID check, with access to account support and impersonation protection. It is different from the notability badge: Instagram verification.
30Privacy
Intimate images or videos shared without the consent of the person shown, including AI-generated fakes. Platforms, Google and tools such as StopNCII remove or block them. How to get leaked images removed.
31Instagram
The test Instagram applies for its original blue badge: the person or brand must be well known and frequently searched for, shown by coverage in multiple independent news sources.
32All platforms
Under the EU Digital Services Act, users can take a platform’s moderation decision to a certified independent body after the internal complaint — for example Appeals Centre Europe. It doesn’t replace the platform’s own appeal. Appeal deadlines by platform. Appeals Centre Europe, step by step.
33Meta
An independent body that reviews selected content decisions on Facebook and Instagram. You can only appeal to it after asking Meta for a review, and it chooses a limited number of cases. Facebook Page restricted: the right appeal route.
34Security
A sign-in method that replaces the password with a key pair: the private key stays on your device and is unlocked with your face, fingerprint or PIN. Because there is nothing to type or share, passkeys resist phishing. Passkeys explained.
35Security
A fake message or login page designed to steal your password or codes, often posing as a platform’s support or copyright team. How to spot recovery scams.
36Security
A variant of SIM swapping: the scammer opens an account with another carrier and has your phone number transferred to it, then receives your calls and verification texts. In the US, carriers must now notify customers of port-out requests and offer account locks. SIM swap: what to do.
37Instagram
A list in Accounts Center → Password and security showing the security and other emails Instagram actually sent you in the last 14 days — the reliable way to spot fake “Instagram” emails. Is that email really from Instagram?
38Instagram
Whether Instagram may suggest your content to people who don’t follow you, in Explore, Reels and hashtag pages. Losing it is what most people call a shadow ban.
39Security
A deliberate delay before a platform gives back an account you can’t prove you own straight away. Apple’s account recovery, for example, is confirmed within 72 hours and takes several days or longer; Apple Support can’t shorten it. Recovery wait times by platform.
40Instagram
Instagram’s rule that accounts which repeatedly post content infringing someone else’s copyright or trademark may be disabled. Resolving wrong reports matters for this reason. Post removed for copyright: how to appeal.
41Google
The right under EU and UK data-protection law to ask search engines to delist results about you that are inaccurate, outdated or irrelevant, weighed against the public interest.
42Security
A small physical device — USB, NFC or Bluetooth — that confirms a sign-in when you plug it in or tap it. Because it only answers the genuine site, a fake login page cannot reuse it; where a platform offers it, it is one of the strongest second steps. Two-factor authentication on 12 platforms.
43Security
Taking over an account by stealing the browser’s session cookies, usually with malware. It can bypass both the password and two-factor authentication. How hijacked YouTube channels are recovered. Hacked even with 2FA on: session hijacking explained.
44Privacy
Blackmail in which someone threatens to share intimate images unless the victim pays or sends more. The FBI’s advice: don’t pay, stop contact, keep evidence and report. What to do if you are being blackmailed.
45All platforms
An informal term for an unannounced reach restriction: the account works, but its content stops being shown to people who don’t follow it. How to detect and remove a shadow ban.
46Security
A fraud in which an attacker gets your phone number moved to a SIM they control, so SMS sign-in codes go to them. Authenticator apps and security keys are not affected. Protect your accounts in 15 minutes. Changing your phone number safely.
47Security
Phishing by text message: an SMS that pretends to come from a bank, parcel service or platform and pushes you to a fake login page. In the US and the UK, such texts can be forwarded to 7726. How to report phishing. Fake parcel delivery texts.
48All platforms
Under the EU Digital Services Act, platforms must tell affected users why content or an account was restricted, and offer an internal complaint system and certified out-of-court dispute settlement. Your DSA appeal rights. Reporting illegal content in the EU.
49All platforms
An account blocked temporarily or permanently for breaking a platform’s rules. On Instagram, the suspension notice shows how long you have to appeal before the account is permanently disabled.
50Security
A second sign-in step on top of your password — a code from an app or SMS, a passkey or a security key. What to do if you lose access to 2FA. Never share a sign-in code.
51Instagram
Instagram’s identity check in which you record a short video of your face, compared with photos on the account. Instagram has said the video is deleted within 30 days. How to pass the video selfie.
52YouTube
YouTube’s programme that lets eligible channels earn money from ads and other features. A channel suspended from it can appeal within 21 days; if the appeal fails, it can reapply 90 days after the suspension. Monetization suspended: how to appeal.
53Security
An impersonation scam in which a message from an unknown number claims to be a family member with a new phone who urgently needs money. One call to the number you already have stops it. How the “Hi Mum” scam works.
54Security
Malware that copies saved passwords and session cookies from a browser and sends them to an attacker, who can then sign in without the password or the two-step code. Hacked even with 2FA on.
55Security
A mailbox setting that forwards, moves or deletes messages automatically. Attackers create them to hide security emails and keep receiving your mail after a password change. Check Gmail and Outlook for hidden rules.
56Security
Phishing through a QR code — stuck over a real one or sent by email, text or letter — that opens a fake login or payment page. Check the web address before opening it. What to do if you scanned a fake QR code.
57Security
Using AI to imitate a real person’s voice from a short recording, often to fake an urgent call from a relative or a boss. Verify by calling back on a number you already know. AI voice cloning scams.
58Security
An app or browser feature that creates, stores and fills a different strong password for each account. Because it fills only on the right site, it also helps against phishing. Do you need a password manager?.
59All platforms
A provider’s rule for deleting accounts nobody signs in to — for example 2 years at Google and Microsoft and 18 months at Yahoo. Signing in now and then keeps an account alive. Inactivity rules compared.
60Security
Monitoring software hidden on someone’s phone — usually by a person they know — to read messages, track location or record calls. Removing it can alert whoever installed it, so think about safety first. Signs your phone has been hacked.
61Security
A scam that builds a friendship or romance over weeks, then steers the victim into a fake cryptocurrency investment that shows invented profits and blocks withdrawals until more “fees” are paid. Romance and investment scams.
62Security
A fake online job that pays small amounts for simple tasks such as liking videos, until the victim is told to deposit their own money — usually cryptocurrency — to unlock earnings that never pay out. Fake job and task scams.
63All platforms
Creating a fake online identity, often with someone else’s photos, to deceive people — for romance, money or harassment. A reverse image search can show where the photos really come from. Someone is using my photos.
64Security
Mobile carriers reassign disconnected phone numbers to new customers. Accounts still linked to your old number can then send sign-in codes and reset links to a stranger. Changing your phone number safely.
65Security
A trick in which someone asks you to read back a code just sent to your phone. The code lets them take over your WhatsApp or another account, or set up a Google Voice number on your phone number. Never share a verification code.
66All platforms
The national authority in each EU country that enforces the Digital Services Act. You can complain to the coordinator where you live if a platform breaks the DSA — for example by giving no reasons or ignoring your notices. How to complain to a Digital Services Coordinator.
67All platforms
An organisation given special status under the EU Digital Services Act for its expertise in spotting illegal content. Platforms must handle its notices with priority; the European Commission publishes the list. Reporting illegal content in the EU.
68Privacy
Under the GDPR, the data protection authority of the EU country where a company has its main establishment leads cross-border cases. You still complain to your own authority, which works with the lead — for Meta, Google and TikTok, Ireland’s Data Protection Commission. GDPR complaints: which authority.
69Privacy
A request to a company for a copy of the personal data it holds about you, under Article 15 of the GDPR. It needs no special form, the first copy is free, and the answer is due within one month. Get your data with a GDPR request.
70Security
A name check that banks in the euro area must run before a SEPA transfer since 9 October 2025: your bank tells you whether the name you typed matches the holder of the IBAN. A “no match” warning is often the last chance to stop a scam. Paid a scammer by bank transfer.
71Security
A scam in which you are tricked into sending a payment yourself, for example to a fake “safe account”. In the UK, banks must reimburse most victims up to £85,000; in the EU there is no general refund right for it yet. Paid a scammer by bank transfer.
72Security
An online shop set up only to take payments for goods that never arrive. Typical signs: prepayment by bank transfer only, prices far below the market, no legal notice and a strange web address. Fake online shops: check and get your money back.
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